We all have experienced the pain of reinstalling our programs, whether it is after a reformat of our existing computer, when upgrading to a new one or just when we need to reinstall a specific program that started misbehaving. It is long and tedious and something nobody really is looking forward to going through. If PaintShop Pro is among the programs you have to reinstall, here are a few tips to help you before you reformat, or before you change computer.
If I reinstall PSP, will I lose my data?
Maybe. When you install PaintShop Pro, the installer will create a series of folders in MyDocuments that will be associated with your particular version. If you installed more than one version, you will have a folder for each of them. When you uninstall PSP, those folders may be removed too. You will get a popup asking if you want to keep your data or not. If you created your own supplies like brushes, presets, picture tubes, gradients, and such, by default, they were saved in those folders and they would be wiped out when you uninstall your program if you don't choose to keep them.
That being said, since you know that those folders will be removed if you just uninstall the program, take the precaution to copy them somewhere else, possibly on your C drive or even on a removable drive. Once you reinstall PSP, just paste those folders over the newly created folders: those are empty anyway.
Can I just copy and paste the PSP folder to my new computer?
No. PaintShop Pro is a complex program, and as such, is more than just a few files to run. Once you install PSP on your computer, the first time, it will make some changes to the registry. Those data are essential to running the program effectively. This explains that if you were to copy and paste the folder where all the files are, even after installation, the program won't work.
If you have a downloaded version of PSP, make sure you save that installation file somewhere safe so you can reinstall it. Also, find your license code. It might be in an email you receive when you purchased the program. Remember that you will also have to reinstall the different patches for that particular version. You can find those patches for versions X4 and newer on the Corel page, and for older JASC versions of PSP, you can find them in the Resources section of the Campus.
Do I just delete the PSP folder to uninstall it?
No. You need to UNINSTALL the program using the proper tool. Although it LOOKS like you can uninstall by going through the Control Panel of your computer, doing so will leave some "traces" in the registry, and those can cause issues when reinstalling it later. It is best to use the proper tools that you can find here (for X4 and up). I think that for older programs, you can probably go with the Add/Remove programs.
Do I need to customize my workspace all over again?
Probably not. If you made various customization to your workspace, like changing the layout, adding some shortcut icons, adding bound scripts, and such, you can simply save your workspace before going through the uninstall or reformat. Go to File > Workspace > Save ... This will allow you to reload it once your PSP is reinstalled. But beware that by default, this workspace file will be saved in your MyDocument folder, so make sure it is copied in a safe place.
Once you have your PSP reinstalled, just go to File > Workspace > Load... and navigate where you saved that copy and it will all be reset for you.
Do I need to reset all my preferences once I reinstall PSP?
Maybe not. Once you have installed your PSP, you will likely go to File > Preferences > General program preferences and recheck the various settings you applied over time, whether it is about the default resolution, the default unit, the default Materials palette, and many more settings. Once you reinstall the program, those are lost. However, you are lucky and LeviFiction has created two scripts that can help you: one will save all those preferences, and once will reset them. So, run the "save" one before you uninstall and the script will tell you where the file is saved. Copy and save it in a safe place. Once you are ready for it, install the "load" script to your PSP, and run it. It will save you a ton of time figuring out what were all the settings you had. Get those scripts HERE.
Do I need to reset all my file location preferences once I reinstall PSP?
Yes. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut for this, and you will have to point PSP to all those folders again. To this day, there is still no tool to memorize those and transfer them to another installation. Yes, it is too bad. Sorry to disappoint you.
Having to reinstall any program can be annoying. Having to reformat your drive, for whatever reason, is a pain. Losing your work or your supplies can be catastrophic, so try to be prepared. Backup your supplies, your programs (the installation files), and your license keys. And if you can plan ahead (which is not always possible), make sure you will have all the necessary files and information handy when you start the process of reinstalling.
Good luck.
1 thought on “I need to reinstall PaintShop Pro”
Very helpful, as always. “Backup” is my middle name! Annette